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A Calling of Compassion: Sharn Barbarin Named CEO of Medical City Arlington

Analysis  |  By Jasmyne Ray  
   June 24, 2022

Throughout her 25-year healthcare career, Sharn Barbarin, FACHE, has maintained an emphasis on nurturing people and fostering a strong culture.

It’s often said that healthcare is a calling, and from an early age, LaSharndra "Sharn" Barbarin, FACHE, knew she wanted to work in health administration.

While she had some family members who worked as healthcare professionals, it was her family members with chronic diseases that inspired her future career path.

"I have family members that have at least two forms of cancer, so we spent a lot of time in the hospital setting. Coupled with my mother's experience in the hospital, I got firsthand experience seeing the compassion that's provided by the caregivers,” Barbarin said.

She recalled as a child overhearing a conversation, when her mother was in the intensive care unit at a hospital, between a physician and nurse – the physician saying "she may not make it. These people don’t take care of themselves."

"I'm sure he didn’t know I was sitting inside the room, but that stuck with me. I remember having the wherewithal to question who are 'these people?'" she said. "Are they families of four? Are they low-income people? Are they African American people?"

Barbarin’s mother would eventually recover, and that moment became the foundation for her resolve.

"For me it became a calling of compassion. Always wanting to make sure everyone sitting inside of a hospital bed is provided and cared for with dignity and respect," she said. "As a loved one, it for sure sparked my real interest in wanting to be on the leadership side because I had this great interest in people."

After earning her bachelor's degree at Louisiana State University, she majored in industrial organizational psychology for her graduate degree at Tulane University. While at Tulane, which has a hospital part of the HCA Healthcare system, she received a scholarship opportunity that would allow her to serve as a post graduate fellow at an HCA hospital.

She would later begin her career at Medical City Las Colinas in Irving, Texas. While the facility was still under construction, she was able to think through and understand the importance of setting up a strong vision for an organization. After five years, she would then move on to Medical City McKinney where she was able to immerse herself in operating efficiency.

Later, at Medical City Lewisville, she reinvigorated her interest in master planning, nurtured her relationship with surgeons, as well as her commitment to other colleagues.

This month Barbarin was named chief executive officer for Medical City Arlington, set to assume the role on June 27.

"Here, in serving as CEO, I go back to defining the vision, defining the strategic direction of the organization, driving accountability, and discipline for delivering top performing patient experience and quality outcomes," she said. "Not just as an edict, but quite honestly as a component of our commitment and our promise to patients that we serve every day."

She describes her approach to leadership as a blend of influence and servitude, and prides herself on investing time and attention into her colleagues.

"It's important in today's environment that we are certainly providing each one of our colleagues the opportunity to have great fulfillment in what they’re doing today. But if you look at some of the literature around the various needs of members in any organization, it varies by generation," Barbarin explained. "What we’re finding is the younger generation wants to know what things they need to do today to prepare them for that next stage in their career."

Other ways she focuses on her colleagues is speaking with them one on one to ask questions, giving them the opportunity to ask questions of their own, and give feedback. She also takes the time to develop succession plans and growth track for individuals, including for colleagues not at the executive level in decision making.

"When I look at my experience over the last 25 years, I've bullet pointed aspects of strategy, business development, vision, patient experience, and quality," Barbarin said. "But the common thread through everything has been my reinforcement of the importance of a strong culture and investing in the relationship of colleagues every step of the way."

“Here, in serving as CEO, I go back to defining the vision, defining the strategic direction of the organization, driving accountability and discipline for just delivering top performing patient experience and quality outcomes. Not just as an edict, but quite honestly as a component of our commitment and our promise to patients that we serve every day.”

Jasmyne Ray is the revenue cycle editor at HealthLeaders. 


KEY TAKEAWAYS

Barbarin’s passion for health administration stems from her belief that every patient should be treated with respect and dignity.

Throughout her leadership roles within Medical City Health, she has worked to emphasize operational efficiency as well as the importance of strong relationships with colleagues.

Barbarin notes that the younger generation of talent are interested in long term growth in their roles, so she develops succession plans and individual growth tracks.


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